{"id":1409,"date":"2020-05-14T14:00:30","date_gmt":"2020-05-14T21:00:30","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/ecampus.oregonstate.edu\/news\/?p=1409"},"modified":"2024-07-23T11:24:25","modified_gmt":"2024-07-23T18:24:25","slug":"online-sociology-degree-sarah-brown","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/ecampus.oregonstate.edu\/news\/online-sociology-degree-sarah-brown\/","title":{"rendered":"Online sociology degree leads alum from rural town to Fulbright scholarship and more"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"Headshot

Sarah Brown’s impressive academic and career journey has only been enhanced since earning a sociology bachelor’s degree online with Oregon State and conducting a yearlong Fulbright research project.<\/p><\/div>\n

Editor’s note: A portion of this story was <\/em>originally published in 2017<\/em><\/a>.<\/div>\n

Shortly after moving from Corvallis, Oregon, to a small rural town in Washington more than 20 years ago, Sarah Brown started an organic produce farm.<\/p>\n

She did everything from customer service to digging ditches, and in the process she gained firsthand knowledge of the hardships people go through trying to live off the land.<\/p>\n

\u201cI wanted to make a positive impact, and growing food is such a basic thing to do,\u201d Brown said. \u201cIt seemed like one way to really positively influence not only the land, but also my community by rallying people around organic produce.\u201d<\/p>\n

She successfully ran her business for nearly a decade before deciding to focus on it as a hobby instead of a living after her son was born.<\/p>\n

That\u2019s when she decided to pursue a sociology bachelor\u2019s degree online with Oregon State Ecampus<\/a>. The program\u2019s focus on human values and community \u2013 and the social forces that shape them \u2013 aligned with her own interests.<\/p>\n

Brown had everything going for her. Until it wasn\u2019t.<\/p>\n

Community restoration amid disaster<\/h2>\n

In 2014, her town in Washington\u2019s Methow Valley fell victim to the Carlton Complex wildfire, the largest wildfire in state history. \u201cAnd it started across the river from my house,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n

The fire burned the hillside by her home, her irrigation, fences and trees.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt burned everything else, including 300 of my neighbors\u2019 houses. It was intense,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n

But what stood strong was the community support. The town members did what they could to help those in need and even set up foundations to rebuild.<\/p>\n

“<\/span>The core classes for the sociology program were incredible in helping me prepare to conceive, build, write and research for my project in Hungary.”<\/span><\/p><\/blockquote>\n

While others might feel like they\u2019ve had enough, Brown didn\u2019t let it get her down. She worked even harder to restore her community and continued on her pursuit of an education \u2013 one class at a time.\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n

\u201cI started Ecampus when it was still a pretty new program where they had VHS videos that they would mail to me,\u201d said Brown, whose husband, Brian Fisher, earned his natural resources degree online<\/a> with OSU Ecampus in 2007. \u201cIt was hard being in such a rural location. It was really different than now.\u201d<\/p>\n

A (Ful)bright future<\/h2>\n

Technology evolved as her studies continued. It took a decade for her to earn her diploma, but, she said, it was worth every year\u2019s work \u2013 and it paid off in the most rewarding way.<\/p>\n

After graduating with honors in 2016, Brown earned a prestigious Fulbright scholarship for the 2017-18 academic year. She spent the year in Hungary, conducting independent research focused on rural social innovation methods and successes.<\/p>\n

And the knowledge she gained in OSU\u2019s sociology program significantly impacted her ability to succeed as a researcher overseas.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe core classes for the sociology program were incredible in helping me prepare to conceive, build, write and research for my project in Hungary,\u201d said Brown, who was the first OSU Ecampus student to receive a Fulbright scholarship.<\/p>\n

She even brought tutorials and files from her undergraduate studies with her as a reference.<\/p>\n

\u201cFor me as a researcher, there is a wealth of information to pull from,\u201d she said prior to leaving on her Fulbright fellowship, \u201cand if I can pull numbers that are pertinent to my questions, then I will actually be able to interpret them using the statistical tools that I learned in my class that taught that.\u201d<\/p>\n

Brown\u2019s career has continued to prosper since returning from Hungary. She earned a master’s degree in public administration from Cornell University and has held various leadership roles in the workforce.<\/p>\n

Learn more about Oregon State\u2019s sociology bachelor\u2019s program and how you can earn your degree online.<\/p>\n

Request information<\/a><\/h3>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

<\/span> 3<\/span> minute read<\/span><\/span>Sarah Brown began as an OSU Ecampus student many years ago, when instruction was often delivered by VHS videos. Technology evolved as her studies continued (thankfully). After graduating with honors in 2016, Brown earned a prestigious Fulbright scholarship for the 2017-18 academic year. And the knowledge she gained in OSU\u2019s sociology program significantly impacted her ability to succeed while conducting independent research in Hungary. <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":1415,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[1,6,3,677,8],"tags":[75,640,43],"class_list":["post-1409","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-all","category-ecampus","category-features","category-students-and-alumni","category-students","tag-college-of-liberal-arts","tag-health-and-human-science","tag-sociology"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/ecampus.oregonstate.edu\/news\/assets\/Sarah-Brown.jpg?fit=744%2C478&ssl=1","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p7BNSE-mJ","jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":549,"url":"https:\/\/ecampus.oregonstate.edu\/news\/sarah-brown\/","url_meta":{"origin":1409,"position":0},"title":"It was an ambitious dream. But Beavers like a challenge.","author":"Heather Doherty","date":"July 14, 2017","format":false,"excerpt":"Oregon State Ecampus Sociology Alumna Sarah Brown is among a small group of current and former students across the world who have earned a Fulbright U.S. Student Program award for the 2017-18 academic year from the U.S. Department of State and the J. William Fulbright Foreign Scholarship Board.","rel":"","context":"In "Archives"","block_context":{"text":"Archives","link":"https:\/\/ecampus.oregonstate.edu\/news\/category\/archives\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"Oregon State Ecampus sociology alumna Sarah Brown stands with one hand resting on the branch of a tree.","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/ecampus.oregonstate.edu\/news\/assets\/Sarah-Brown-Main.jpg?fit=638%2C410&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/ecampus.oregonstate.edu\/news\/assets\/Sarah-Brown-Main.jpg?fit=638%2C410&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/ecampus.oregonstate.edu\/news\/assets\/Sarah-Brown-Main.jpg?fit=638%2C410&ssl=1&resize=525%2C300 1.5x"},"classes":[]},{"id":1403,"url":"https:\/\/ecampus.oregonstate.edu\/news\/crime-justice-online-sociology-degree\/","url_meta":{"origin":1409,"position":1},"title":"Crime and justice is a key focus of Oregon State online sociology degree","author":"Tyler Hansen","date":"May 11, 2020","format":false,"excerpt":"When Scott Akins was \"a bit of a juvenile delinquent\" growing up. Now he's a Ph.D. professor of sociology at Oregon State University. \"After experiencing criminal behavior and law enforcement from the \u2018other side,\u2019 I became very interested in studying the behavior, why it occurs and what can be done\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "All Stories"","block_context":{"text":"All Stories","link":"https:\/\/ecampus.oregonstate.edu\/news\/category\/all\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"Scott Akins, a professor of sociology at Oregon State University, poses in front of a building. 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When I graduate, I want to continue my education before pursuing a career that involves conservation, environmental justice or really anything to do with environmental\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "All Stories"","block_context":{"text":"All Stories","link":"https:\/\/ecampus.oregonstate.edu\/news\/category\/all\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"Carlee Sedgwick, a sustainability and sociology double major with Oregon State University Ecampus, stands with ocean cliffs behind her. She is in the environmental and natural resource option in the sociology bachelor's degree program.","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/ecampus.oregonstate.edu\/news\/assets\/carlee-sedgwick-sociology-sustainability.jpg?fit=744%2C498&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/ecampus.oregonstate.edu\/news\/assets\/carlee-sedgwick-sociology-sustainability.jpg?fit=744%2C498&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/ecampus.oregonstate.edu\/news\/assets\/carlee-sedgwick-sociology-sustainability.jpg?fit=744%2C498&ssl=1&resize=525%2C300 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/ecampus.oregonstate.edu\/news\/assets\/carlee-sedgwick-sociology-sustainability.jpg?fit=744%2C498&ssl=1&resize=700%2C400 2x"},"classes":[]},{"id":1399,"url":"https:\/\/ecampus.oregonstate.edu\/news\/online-sociology-natural-resources\/","url_meta":{"origin":1409,"position":3},"title":"Oregon State’s online sociology degree adds environmental focus","author":"Tyler Hansen","date":"May 7, 2020","format":false,"excerpt":"The OSU Ecampus sociology online bachelor\u2019s degree program gives students the ability to enroll in an environmental and natural resource option. 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Environmental and natural resource option in Oregon State's sociology bachelor's degree program.","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/ecampus.oregonstate.edu\/news\/assets\/environmental-natural-resource-sociology.jpg?fit=744%2C496&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/ecampus.oregonstate.edu\/news\/assets\/environmental-natural-resource-sociology.jpg?fit=744%2C496&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/ecampus.oregonstate.edu\/news\/assets\/environmental-natural-resource-sociology.jpg?fit=744%2C496&ssl=1&resize=525%2C300 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/ecampus.oregonstate.edu\/news\/assets\/environmental-natural-resource-sociology.jpg?fit=744%2C496&ssl=1&resize=700%2C400 2x"},"classes":[]},{"id":199,"url":"https:\/\/ecampus.oregonstate.edu\/news\/joelle-rebolledo-chamberland\/","url_meta":{"origin":1409,"position":4},"title":"Joelle Rebolledo Chamberland, sociology | Oregon State Ecampus","author":"Heather Doherty","date":"June 19, 2015","format":false,"excerpt":"After beginning her college career in person at a different school, Joelle Rebolledo Chamberland quickly realized that online learning was right method for her.","rel":"","context":"In "Archives"","block_context":{"text":"Archives","link":"https:\/\/ecampus.oregonstate.edu\/news\/category\/archives\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/ecampus.oregonstate.edu\/news\/assets\/Joelle-Rebolledo-Chamberland.jpg?fit=1200%2C675&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/ecampus.oregonstate.edu\/news\/assets\/Joelle-Rebolledo-Chamberland.jpg?fit=1200%2C675&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/ecampus.oregonstate.edu\/news\/assets\/Joelle-Rebolledo-Chamberland.jpg?fit=1200%2C675&ssl=1&resize=525%2C300 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/ecampus.oregonstate.edu\/news\/assets\/Joelle-Rebolledo-Chamberland.jpg?fit=1200%2C675&ssl=1&resize=700%2C400 2x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/ecampus.oregonstate.edu\/news\/assets\/Joelle-Rebolledo-Chamberland.jpg?fit=1200%2C675&ssl=1&resize=1050%2C600 3x"},"classes":[]},{"id":2180,"url":"https:\/\/ecampus.oregonstate.edu\/news\/jane-vinesky-fisheries-wildlife-conservation-sciences\/","url_meta":{"origin":1409,"position":5},"title":"Oregon State Everywhere: Finding community and support from all points on the map","author":"Jane Vinesky","date":"December 7, 2022","format":false,"excerpt":"\"Faculty made time to tutor me, teach me, counsel me, write recommendations and discuss professional opportunities. 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